1. Field of the Invention
The specification generally relates to identifying and distinguishing between objects of similar appearance in a candidate list of indexed images based on color features. In particular, the specification relates to a system and method for re-ranking the candidate list of indexed images by transforming and comparing the indexed images and a query image of an object using a color transfer function.
2. Description of the Background Art
A planogram is a visual representation of products in a retail environment. For example, a planogram may describe where in the retail environment and in what quantity products should be located. Such planograms are known to be effective tools for increasing sales, managing inventory and otherwise ensuring that the desired quantity and sizes of an item are placed to optimize profits or other parameters. However, presentation and maintenance of adequate levels of stock on shelves, racks and display stands is a labor-intensive effort, thereby making enforcement of planograms difficult. While the location and quantity of products in retail stores can be manually tracked by a user, attempts are being made to automatically recognize the products using computers.
Previous attempts at recognizing products have deficiencies. For example, existing image recognition techniques fail to distinguish between objects that are similar in appearance but vary in color.